History buffs to have a ball celebrating Quaboag’s 350th

Thursday

Dec 31, 2009 at 6:00 AM

By J.P. Ellery CORRESPONDENT

One of the largest crowds ever to fill Town Hall on East Main Street is expected to gather Saturday night for a gala ball, the inaugural event of yearlong festivities celebrating the 350th anniversary of the Quaboag Plantation.

The large plantation tract, which now is home to six towns, was established in 1660 through a land grant. It became Brookfield in 1673, and over the years East Brookfield, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Warren and West Brookfield were born.

William H. Jankins, chairman of the Quaboag 350th Anniversary Committee, said about 340 tickets were sold for the grand ball — a sellout.

“We could go higher in the Town Hall, but you just won’t be able to move,” he said,

A similar number of tickets were purchased for a dinner in the Salem Cross Inn on Route 9 in advance of the ball. The dinner starts at 5 p.m. and the ball at 7:30 p.m.

All kinds of special activities are planned for the ball, including a demonstration of Colonial dancing and a town crier announcing the names of attendees as they enter the hall.

Some special tables created for the ball may become collector’s items, according to Mr. Jankins.

“We had about 20 tables built for the ball,” he said. “They’re like a coffee table.”

Before completion, the tabletops were turned over to various artists in local towns who painted scenes on them. The tops are protected by Plexiglas, and underneath the tabletops is the logo of the 350th anniversary, branded by West Brookfield blacksmith Robert Lyon.

These tables will be auctioned off Feb. 27 at Town Hall, when the next key events of the anniversary year take center stage. That is when local artists and photographers will have their projects judged. Their works of art, consisting of scenes from within the six plantations towns and elsewhere in the region, will have been previously displayed in Town Hall.

“We’re going to open the Town Hall the first weekend of February for those displays,” said Selectman Barry J. Nadon Jr., chairman of the town’s anniversary committee.

He said there are various categories involved, including youth, amateur and professional artists and photographers. “We’re going with different categories, so that kids aren’t going up against professionals.”

There also will be a snow sculpture and snowman-building contest on that same date, provided that the weather cooperates.

Throughout 2010, the six towns that make up the former Quaboag Plantation will also hold events celebrating the 350th anniversary. Visit www.quaboag350.com for more information.